05-03-2011, 12:46 PM
The Phoney War is in full swing, it seems!
Our invincible fleet presence has successfully deterred a preemptive strike from the foul Darkseid, out in our colony system. We considered launching a deep space attack, but the beloved Game Manual is rather vague about how combat works. Specifically, you can do a deep space attack in which you attempt to chase down your target "except around planets", OR you can defend specific planets. We chose the latter. Does this mean that you can EITHER attack OR defend? Or can you cover both? We may try some other stuff in the upcoming turns.
We also enjoyed a better-than-expected bump in Mining technology, after this turns huge investment. It is probably better to keep Mining at least as high as Manufacturing, because you can always stockpile excess raw materials, or sell them as scrap. A random tick in Manufacturing tech was also welcome news.
We tried to set up some half-decent planetary defenses for our in-system colony, but got the message that not enough colonists were available. This is another odd thing about this game. You need a colonist to run each Mining unit and each Manufacturing unit, so if you have 25 of each, you'd need 50 colonists. THEN, apparently, you need EXTRA colonists to run planetary defenses. So if I want a basic minimum of 100 PD units, on top of my 25 Mines and 25 Manufacturings, does that mean I need 100+25+25=150 colonists? Apparently, that colony has 14 "available colonists". How many "unavailable" ones do I have? What are they occupied with? How did I get 14 to be available? The turn results are unfortunately very brief on these points, and the rules are vague.
In other news, we got a friendly message from the latest interstellar species, the NeoHumans. Perhaps they all look like Keanu Reeves.
And, we found the home system of the Tilkatians! This thanks to me letting my remaining 2 scouts go on their automated Jump routes. If at some point we can neutralize the threat of the insidious Darkseid, we can resume the higher purpose for our species - informational supremacy. We will eventually want a scout ship in every system and ultimately that kewl gravity-scope technology. But, of course, we need lots and lots of money to get there.
Finally, our other scout discovered a system with a VERY good colonization profile - meaning it is by far the most similar to our own home planet. I will not reveal the location, but I do think it will make an excellent backup homeworld, and we will begin laying plans for a massive annexation effort soon.
Our invincible fleet presence has successfully deterred a preemptive strike from the foul Darkseid, out in our colony system. We considered launching a deep space attack, but the beloved Game Manual is rather vague about how combat works. Specifically, you can do a deep space attack in which you attempt to chase down your target "except around planets", OR you can defend specific planets. We chose the latter. Does this mean that you can EITHER attack OR defend? Or can you cover both? We may try some other stuff in the upcoming turns.
We also enjoyed a better-than-expected bump in Mining technology, after this turns huge investment. It is probably better to keep Mining at least as high as Manufacturing, because you can always stockpile excess raw materials, or sell them as scrap. A random tick in Manufacturing tech was also welcome news.
We tried to set up some half-decent planetary defenses for our in-system colony, but got the message that not enough colonists were available. This is another odd thing about this game. You need a colonist to run each Mining unit and each Manufacturing unit, so if you have 25 of each, you'd need 50 colonists. THEN, apparently, you need EXTRA colonists to run planetary defenses. So if I want a basic minimum of 100 PD units, on top of my 25 Mines and 25 Manufacturings, does that mean I need 100+25+25=150 colonists? Apparently, that colony has 14 "available colonists". How many "unavailable" ones do I have? What are they occupied with? How did I get 14 to be available? The turn results are unfortunately very brief on these points, and the rules are vague.
In other news, we got a friendly message from the latest interstellar species, the NeoHumans. Perhaps they all look like Keanu Reeves.
And, we found the home system of the Tilkatians! This thanks to me letting my remaining 2 scouts go on their automated Jump routes. If at some point we can neutralize the threat of the insidious Darkseid, we can resume the higher purpose for our species - informational supremacy. We will eventually want a scout ship in every system and ultimately that kewl gravity-scope technology. But, of course, we need lots and lots of money to get there.
Finally, our other scout discovered a system with a VERY good colonization profile - meaning it is by far the most similar to our own home planet. I will not reveal the location, but I do think it will make an excellent backup homeworld, and we will begin laying plans for a massive annexation effort soon.